Cracked
by ZeDancingHobbit
Summary: Charlie gets a phone call in the hospital, and, as always, has a bit of Zen to dish out to a worried, absent girl. One shot. Complete. Charlie/Rachel friendship fluff.


**Because Rachel deserved more time on screen, and they totally didn't have enough time of him in the hospital. This takes place sometime between the time of Trapdoor and the next episode (which I don't remember the name of :P)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life, or Charlie Crews, much as I'd like to. Because he is amazing. **

oOoOo

He got the call two days after he woke up in the hospital.

He was sitting up on his hospital bed, propped up on pillows and playing poker with Reese. They'd set up their games on his sheets and instead of money were using oyster crackers Dani got with her soup from the food court.

Of course, Charlie was smoking Dani's butt.

He'd just killed her once again, and she was gathering up the cards with a disgusted air when Charlie's cell ringtone ran off. He reached over, wincing as his bullet wound was tugged, and picked up his phone. "Crews," he answered it, holding it up to his ear.

It was a few seconds before a quiet voice answered him. "Uncle Charlie?"

"Rachel," he exclaimed, suddenly extremely cheerful at hearing his surrogate niece's voice. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Uncle Charlie, are you okay?" Rachel's timorous voice held none of the happiness that Charlie's did. It trembled as she spoke, and Charlie's brow furrowed at the fear in it.

"I'm fine, Rachel. Just fine."

"H-how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. A little tired, a little sore, but other than that, I'm great." He smirked at Dani and said, "It helps that I'm kicking Reese's butt in poker."

"Are not!" Dani snapped, and Charlie chuckled before turning his attention back to the phone call. He sighed and paused for a beat before asking, "Are you okay, Rachel?"

There was no answer. Charlie waited expectantly for a few seconds, but there was nothing. He began to wonder if she had heard him at all, when she finally answered, "…no."

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" he asked softly.

"I…I…" Rachel stammered into the phone,

"Rachel?"

"I was so scared," she finally whispered into the phone. "I didn't even know until Aunt Jenny called me, and that wasn't until two days after-after you got-" She didn't continue her sentence, but Charlie finished it for her.

"After I got shot."

"Why didn't anyone tell me sooner? Why didn't someone tell me what happened? What would have happened if you died?" Rachel's voice grew in intensity, from a whisper to a loud, angry demand.

"Rachel, calm down-"

Dani glanced at Charlie questioningly, pausing in her shuffling of cards, but he brushed her off and concentrated on Rachel's near-panicking voice.

"I'm not gonna calm down, I can't calm down, I can't! I just-" She stopped and drew in a shaky breath, collecting her thoughts. "I can't stop thinking about what would've happened if you died," she began in a whisper once more. "Aunt Jenny called me, and I didn't sleep at all that night, or the next night, or the night after that. I'd try, but I'd get these bad dreams and you just kept dieing and dieing and dieing and-" She broke off with a sob and Charlie hushed her gently.

"Rachel, honey, I'm not dead, okay? I'm alive and it's okay."

"No it's not!" Rachel argued, her voice thick with tears. "Is it my fault? Does this have something to do with me? Am I-am I the reason you almost died?"

Charlie exhaled and squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to get up and run to wherever Rachel was hiding to gather her in his arms and never let her go. How could she think this was her fault? This was entirely beyond her. Unfortunately, for the moment, he was forced to have to use the phone to console her.

"This has nothing to do with you, do you understand? Nothing whatsoever. This is not your fault."

"How do you know?" she asked, her voice pinched. "Who did this?"

Charlie hesitated before answering, shooting a glance at Reese. "I don't know."

"You don't…know," Rachel repeated dubiously.

"I can't remember."

"How do you forget something like that?"

Charlie exhaled, his voice hitching before replying, "The mind does crazy things sometimes. It knows what it knows, and what it doesn't, and sometimes it knows both, but we can't make it do what it doesn't want to do, even if that's knowing something."

"Uh…" was Rachel's only response, but after a few moments she let out a small giggle. "I miss you, Uncle Charlie. Even your weird Zen stuff."

Charlie chuckled. "I miss you too. Where are you holed up?"

"Canada. Montreal. Figured that I'm out of the country, but not too far."

"Did you go skiing yet? Snowboarding? Ice fishing?"

"There's no ice fishing here," Rachel laughed. "That's in Alaska. But I have gone skiing. And I was thinking of going snowboarding today."

"Just be careful, okay? I don't want to get a call saying my favorite niece got stuck in a snow bank."

"Okay, I will." She was quiet for a moment before confessing, "I'm glad you're okay, Uncle Charlie."

"I'll see you soon, okay, kiddo?"

"Okay. Hey Uncle Charlie."

"Yeah?"

"When you find the guy…shoot him in the balls for me, okay?"

Charlie gaffawed "Rachel, to wish harm on your enemy is to wish harm on yourself," he chided her, but his voice was full of laughter.

"I know…but still."

"We'll see." He was about to on, but his cell phone startled him with a loud beeping noise, and when he looked at it in concern it displayed a little red battery sign, and "LOW BATTERY CHARGE. CONNECT TO CHARGING SOURCE" was blazoned upon the screen.

"Rachel, sweetheart, my phone's about to die."

"Okay. I'll say goodbye. I just…wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Thanks for calling."

"I would've done it sooner, but I didn't want to wake you up or disturb you or anything."

"Well I'm glad you did it now."

"Bye, Uncle Charlie."

"Bye Rachel."

As he was about to hang up, Rachel's near frantic voice summoned him back. "Uncle Charlie?"

"Yeah?"

She drew in a shaky breath before saying, "I love you."

He smiled wistfully. "I love you too."

The loud sound of a tone told him that she'd hung up, and he snapped his phone shut before setting it down. He placed his elbows on his knees and his chin on his fingertips, staring off into space. Dani watched as she dealt out the cards once more for another game.

"Crews? You okay?"

"Huh?" he jerked his head in her direction, before smiling one of his funny-looking smiles. "Just fine." Gesturing to the cards laid out on the bed with his head, he questioned, "Are you ready to get smoked again?"

Dani gave an irritated huff. "Not on your life."

~Finis

oOoOo

**Love it? Hate it? Were they in character? Please review and tell me your thoughts! **


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